Photo by Vince Fedorof
CLEAN-UP MODE – Members of the Whitehorse Fire Department work on containing the spilled oil from the Walmart parking lot, across Quartz Road, in Spook Creek late Monday morning.
Some oil flowed into Yukon River
A small amount of oil leaked into the Yukon River after Monday's spill in the Walmart parking lot.
A small amount of oil leaked into the Yukon River after Monday's spill in the Walmart parking lot.
Dennis Senger, a spokesperson for Environment Yukon, said today the oil entered the river through the storm sewer.
A private contractor has been hired to clean up the spill in the parking lot, but Senger said it is unlikely anyone is cleaning up the oil in the river.
"It didn't seem to be a significant amount,” he said.
Yesterday, fire crews estimated approximately 10 litres of oil had spilled onto the parking lot.
The source of the spill is unknown, but an investigation is underway, said Senger.
Environment Yukon has also sent out samples to determine what kind of oil it is.
It was the second spill at a local Big Box store in a little more than two weeks.
On July 22, a hose mishap at the Canadian Tire store resulted in 500 litres of oil being spilled. It was being transferred from one tank to another.
Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar
In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.
Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.
Comments (3)
Up 0 Down 0
Tami on Aug 13, 2010 at 4:54 am
I'm with Trina!
Up 0 Down 0
Trina Whittaker on Aug 10, 2010 at 8:37 am
Stop letting those huge motorhomes take root in the bloody parking lots then!
Bet MalWart won't be held responsible for this at all. Why aren't they accountable for the pollution the vehicles they allow to 'camp' in their parking lot create? Litter, animal waste now this? Not to mention the huge eyesore it creates. There's also the matter of safety, ever try to drive in that parking lot? These monstrosities are parked willy nilly all over the place, in the lanes, in multiple spots and blocking the view of traffic creating a total hazard. How long before a pedestrian gets hit?
Who in their right mind wants to camp in a big box store parking lot anyway? HELLO... you're in Yukon for pete's sake, quit being so cheap. You spent 10-100's of thousands of dollars for your gas guzzlers, think you can spend 10$ for a spot where you can enjoy the scenery!
Up 0 Down 0
JC on Aug 10, 2010 at 8:07 am
Come on now guys, is this really an environmental disaster? Are the Yukon's nature worshipers all upset now? Are all the little Yukon River fish gods going to die now? Did somebody step on their god again? I saw the spill. For goodness sake, I get more leakage from my oil pan in a normal week. Give us a break WS and report something more meaningful and interesting.